Status Updates From Spin diktátori; Ako sa v 21...

Interesting point that Spain and Portugal under Franco and Salazar were corporatist rather than fascist, as they looked towards the past as a model rather than aiming towards an idealized future. They nevertheless, alongside the “secular religions” of communism and fascism, were part of the 1930s backlash against democracy.

“The authorities under communism…tried to create the illusion of consent. Under Putin, many Russians consented to illusions.” Also fascinating point that arguably Singapore’s a better place to understand how tech-infused societies have continued to accept authoritarianism than oft-cited China, where for half the country’s population in towns and villages old-school repressive apparatuses still work fine.